Belief

What are the religious beliefs of people in the Chinese countryside
and how do these beliefs reflect individual and collective experiences?
The essays in this chapter analyze the implicit meanings in the choices
rural people make by looking at the way individual and community
experiences are expressed through their beliefs.

The essay on Christianity focuses on several individuals in the
village to elucidate how their personalities and experiences affect
their different understandings and interests in Christian religion. The
essay on Body, Belief and the State provides an analytical comparison
of some of the fundamental differences among Christianity, formal
Buddhism, and Chinese popular religion in an attempt to understand
their differing relations to the State and its policies. A profile of
the Chuanzhu temple explores how this one temple in particular, has
expressed changes in the community's identity over time. Overall, this
section attempts to give insight into some of the strengths and
weaknesses of looking at Chinese popular religion as a democratic
expression of changing popular concerns.